Jakobína Valdís & Hólmfríður Dóra
From the Westfjords to the World Stage: Iceland’s First Female Winter Olympian
The skiers Jakobína Valdís & Hólmfríður Dóra met early January in the Bláfjöll ski resort for some coffee, waffles and to chat about how they became professional skiers. Jakobína had brought a diploma that had her name written on it and in italian: Giochi Olimpici Invernali – Cortina 1956. The document was a testament that she had been the first Icelandic woman to partake in the Winter Olympics. This she did in 1956 in the town of Cortina in Italy.
They browsed through old photos from the Olympics and talked about what has changed over the years, since Jakobína first started skiing as a child in Ísafjörður, a town in the Westfjords of Iceland. Hólmfríður is of the new generation and grew up skiing in Bláfjöll, the main ski resort around the Reykjavík area. She went to her first Winter Olympics in 2022 which were held in Beijing. Now she lives in Italy and aspires to get to the next Winter Olympics in 2026 which are again, now 70 years later, held in Cortina where Jakobína competed in her very first Olympics.
As they talk, a snowstorm swirls outside in Bláfjöll, creating a fitting winterly atmosphere since Jakobína reveals that one of the reasons that she took up skiing is that she just loved the snow.
Looking back on her childhood Jakobína recalls: “I always felt the landscape was much prettier in the winter than in the summer.”
Both Jakobína and Hólmfríður agree that winter is their favorite season and that the main thing is to have fun.
Jakobína Valdís Jakobsdóttir is 92 years old and paved the way for Icelandic female skiers. In 1954 she was the first Icelandic woman to compete in the skiing world cup. Two years later she qualified for the Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy.
Winter days in her childhood meant snow and skis. She and her friends would walk to Seljaland Valley near Ísafjörður, carrying their wooden skis through knee-deep snow. At that time there were no ski lifts so they had to tread the trail themselves, walking in knee deep snow for a few kilometers. One of her first skiing memories was observing her father slide down a mountain close to her home with old wooden skis and rather than bindings wearing toe straps.
At the skiing world cup in Åre Sweden in 1954 she saw ski lifts for the first time. “We didn’t know about ski lifts so we didn’t miss them. In the end it was easier but not more fun.”
The gear was of its time. Instead of ski bindings there were toe straps, heel and spring bindings and the like. Slowly things became modern, the skis got wider and started to include steel edges and people treating their skis with different lubricants and wax.
“It was like wearing heels," Jakobína says and laughs, remembering how the snow would pack under their old skis. At competitions, skiers from Reykjavík, Akureyri and Ísafjörður would eye each other carefully, no one wanting to reveal what they were using to treat their skis.
Similarly the skiing trousers could also be tricky. Snow would stick to them and they had to scrape it off before they came inhouse. Jakobína says that her mother sometimes handed the kids hot chocolate out of the kitchen window so they wouldn’t bring all the snow inside.
When she was young there weren’t any specific competition clothes. Their skiing wear at the Olympics were a common coat and a white turtleneck pullover. “Though at the end we didn’t compete in these clothes, they were so hideous.” She says that it was not common for women to wear long trousers, but that was though allowed in the wintertime when skiing.
Jakobína has won 19 Icelandic championship titles but never considered it a big achievement. “This is just how it was.” She never planned to become a professional skier, it was just something that happened, she says.
Before the Olympics an Austrian skiing trainer came for a week to the West Fjords to prepare them. At that time, they were only two who were allowed to go on the track with the boys, but no special skiing track was ever made for them.
“That's why we excelled and had an advantage over the other girls … We didn't practice on skiing trails that much in the old days, we mostly just practiced freestyle.”
The skiing track at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Italy was a huge change from what she was used to. The track was icy by the time she got there, and she remembers that the spectators at that time were right next to the track. She says she was always stressed. “A contest is always a contest. The Olympics were just bigger.” In 1956 she was the first Icelandic woman to compete in the Winter Olympics. Too bad, she says. It would have been better to have more girls with her.
I guess someone had to clear the ice.
Hólmfríður Dóra Friðgeirsdóttir is a 26 year old skier. She says smiling that it is a decent goal to aim for 19 championship titles like Jakobína. “Why not. That would be the dream.” She says that the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022 were the biggest thing she’s done.
At first, Hólmfríður just tagged along with her older sister to Bláfjöll, content with her sled while her sister trained. “I took my time deciding to take it seriously,” she says. Most kids start much younger. She had been practicing many sports; figure skating, handball and football in the summertime. At age fourteen, she would sometimes compete in figure skating early in the morning and then right afterwards drive up to Bláfjöll and attend a skiing tournament. This, at one point, became too much and she decided to pick skiing over figure skating.
She took her first skiing steps in Grandma Mouse, a slope for kids in Bláfjöll. There she was often lectured for skiing too fast and soon she decided to ski ever steeper slopes. One could say that in contrast to Jakobína, Hólmfríður grew up in the ski lifts.
International ski tournaments revolve in a certain way around the gear and Hólmfríður knows from experience that there often is much secrecy about what other nations are treating their skis with. Things haven't changed much when it comes to ski preparation secrets. Only now, Hólmfríður notes, they're also measuring how much air gets through their suits. She smiles. “Every little detail counts.” The spandex material was a real revolution when it comes to minimising air resistance.
Hólmfríður says that most Icelandic professional skiers live abroad since a big influencing factor is the weather and in Iceland the mountains aren’t particularly high. For kids and teenagers it is way different. There are fantastic coaches here in Iceland and they put a lot of effort into teaching the foundations. But when people want to become professionals they have to go abroad.
When they talk about the feeling they experience when skiing they both agree. It’s the best feeling they know.
Jakobína misses it. In the winter she was used to skiing everyday and even used them as a way of transportation. She skied down to the cemetery in Ísafjörður where she took off her skis and went shopping for her mother. Then she skied back home.
Hólmfríður says the feeling is similar to flying. And she hopes that as many people as possible will get to experience it in their lives. When she started, she just wanted to go on the ramps. She repeats that one of the biggest factors is to have fun as a child and not to take it too seriously. Jakobína ads: “Yes, but it’s also important to go fast and take big turns.”
When Jakobína is asked what advice she would give to the younger generation, she points to Hólmfríður and says: “take her as an example,” and laughs. “And another piece of advice is to just practice and enjoy it.”
Through the window, they watch the storm picking up. “No point hiding inside,” Hólmfríður says. “The good days make up for all the bad ones.”
“We skied in all kinds of weather, since there were no lifts that could close when there was a blizzard outside,” Jakobína says. And Hólmfríður reiterates that kids have to be tough in this sport, sometimes it is -10 degrees outside and the kids ask:”When is lunch? When can we go inside?” But most often, no matter the weather, training continues.
In conclusion, Jakobína tells a story about the time she and her friends went to Seljalands Valley, close to Ísafjörður, which they often did after New Year's. They all walked together in a group with the heavy wooden skis on their shoulders. Fortunately, they could wear ski boots, and took backpacks, food and sleeping bags with them. And they had lumps of coal to put in the stove. The boys also took wood since the hut they were sleeping in was being furnished. This they did so they could enjoy both Saturday and Sunday on skis and were able to make a warm meal with the lump of coal.
The next day they spent up in the mountain and later they skied all the way down to Ísafjörður, which they were able to do until May, when they skied right down to the grass.
The 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy are coming up and Hólmfríður has set it as her goal to qualify. 70 years after Jakobína, as the first Icelandic woman, competed in Cortina, should Hólmfríður qualify for Cortina in 2026, she'll carry with her the legacy of the woman who first carved those tracks in the snow.
They continue to look at old photos and Jakobína finally wishes Hólmfríður good luck. She looks forward to following her skiing career.
